93.9 The Eagle – The News and Talk of Columbia, MO
A man from mid-Missouri’s Versailles whose late father was exposed to Agent Orange in Vietnam is on a mission to raise awareness about the children of veterans like him.
53-year-old Terry Roesner suffers from MG, which is a neurological condition known as Myasthenia Gravis. Mr. Roesner is permanently disabled and has difficulty with speaking. He’s frustrated because while Congress and the VA permit compensation for a wide variety of conditions for children of female veterans, they don’t for children of male veterans. He’s been traveling across mid-Missouri, visiting radio stations and newspapers to urge Congress and the VA to compensate for MG, saying Agent Orange is now to cause numerous birth defects in children of Vietnam veterans.
“Because they want you to give up, because they don’t want to spend no money on dependents or veterans. I mean they do for veterans, I understand that. But for dependents or the kids, Vietnam … they don’t care, I don’t think,” Mr. Roesner says.
He says he lost his livelihood as a 27-year trucker in 2021, after being diagnosed with MG. There is no disease for MG, and Mr. Roesner says Agent Orange is known to cause numerous birth defects in children of Vietnam veterans.
“They should owe us something. I’m not here for a handout, nothing like this. But you know if I had gotten married, had kids, they would have been … a vicious circle,” he says.
Mr. Roesner has been in contact with the office of U.S. Rep. Mark Alford (R-Raymore), and Roesner is urging you to write to their congressman or woman to let them know the importance of this issue. His father, decorated Vietnam veteran Arlan Roesner, died of heart disease at the age of 63 in 2003. His father earned a Purple Heart, the Marine commendation medal and the Combat Action ribbon. Terry Roesner tells 939 the Eagle that his late father never wore shorts, when he returned from Vietnam.
“He wore this jumpsuit to the lake, or river. And I guess he was ashamed of his legs. He had big sores on his arms from that stuff,” Roesner says.
We’ve asked Congressman Alford about Mr. Roesner’s case several times 0n 939 the Eagle’s “Wake Up Mid-Missouri.” Congressman Alford, who serves on the U.S. House Armed Services Committee, expresses frustration at what’s happened to Terry and praises his efforts and indicates he’s working on the issue on Capitol Hill. It’s an uphill battle.
And Terry Roesner admits his effort is essentially a “Hail Mary” pass. But he’s trying.
“My specific need right now is to obtain government financial compensation for my birth defect, just like other children of Vietnam-era veterans exposed to Agent Orange,” he writes in a column he’s hand-delivered to numerous newspapers and other media outlets in mid-Missouri.
